


Whumptober 2019 - 03 - Delirium

by OllieCollie



Series: Whumptober 2019 [3]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Bar Fight, Flashbacks, Gen, Holding Cell, Whump, it probably was Magnum's fault they ended up in jail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 05:47:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllieCollie/pseuds/OllieCollie
Summary: Magnum hesitated, trying to decide the best course of action. Rick was clearly delirious, trapped in a nightmare of the past. Normally it didn’t take this long to pull him from a flashback, but the fact that they were currently trapped in a holding cell created a realistic illusion of being back at the camp.





	Whumptober 2019 - 03 - Delirium

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober day three! 
> 
> Leave a comment if you get a chance! I love feedback!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Look, we didn’t even start the fight.” Magnum was not a happy camper. 

Rick almost laughed at his friend's indignant comment, but he didn't have the energy. It was taking all of his concentration just to put one foot in front of the other. He wasn't sure if that was due to the cold he was coming down with, the pounding headache and bruised ribs, or the fact that he was probably slightly drunk.

Magnum growled again as he was shoved forward. "What about the guys who started it? Shouldn't you be locking them up, too?" 

Rick wished his friend would tone it down. Sure, it was stupid that they had gotten themselves into a situation like this in the first place, but Magnum's complaining definitely was _ not _going to help them now. He sighed. Their idea to stay in the little town after wrapping up what turned out to be a simple case was possibly one of the worst ideas they'd ever had. 

The cop, an older guy who Rick decided did not tolerate bad behavior of any kind and would rather be in bed than dragging two men to his jail, nodded. “Sure, they’ll be charged as soon as they’re conscious and able to leave the hospital.”

Magnum’s smirk didn’t go unnoticed by Rick, but the grin faded when his gaze drifted over in Rick’s direction. 

_ You don’t look so hot yourself, T.M., _Rick wanted to say. But he kept his mouth shut, partly because of the grouchy cop and partly because he didn’t know if he could get the words out anyway.

The two men were nudged into the previously unoccupied holding cell, and the metal door swung shut behind them with a clang. Magnum immediately turned, hands latching onto the bars as he glared through them. “My friend is hurt. You’re just gonna leave him to sleep on these hard benches while those drunk maniacs get a comfy hospital bed?”

The officer shrugged. “The paramedics checked your buddy out. They said he’s fine.”

Magnum grunted. “Yeah, and I’m sure the treatment they prescribed for his bruised ribs was this holding cell.”

Rick grabbed Thomas’s arm, although whether it was in order to get his friend’s attention or keep himself upright, he wasn’t quite sure. He decided on the former. “Thomas, I’m fine.” All arguing was going to do was get them stuck here longer. It was only for the night, and then they’d be able to go home. 

Magnum huffed but backed down. “Look,” he tried to reason, voice not quite as irritated, “we’re not even from here. Let us go, and we’ll leave town.”

The cop was already shaking his head. “If you can’t handle spending a night locked up, then you shouldn’t go around picking fights and trashing bars.” He turned to leave.

“We didn’t start it!” Magnum hollered after the officer’s retreating back, watching until the man was out of sight before turning to his partner in crime. “This is ridiculous.”

Rick shrugged, wincing at the pain it caused. “We _ did _do a number on those guys.”

“They deserved it,” Magnum retorted. “I should at least get a phone call!” he added, glaring after where the policeman had disappeared. 

“Yeah, and who would you call? Jules would find this hilarious. She’d say something about how ‘that’s what you get for involving yourselves in a barroom brawl.’” Rick even imitated the accent.

Magnum glowered. “Katsumoto—”

“Would _ definitely _not help.” Rick rolled his eyes and sunk down on the wide bench connected to the wall. Now that the adrenaline from the fight had worn off, his injuries were screaming for attention, and the pain was making itself known. A moan escaped.

“Hey, you all right?” Concern filled Thomas’s face as he moved over to his friend. 

“Just...great,” he grunted in response. Exhaustion was beginning to creep in. 

Clearly, Magnum didn’t agree—although he didn’t have much room to talk. Even as the world began to fade around him, Rick made out the bruises and cuts on his friend’s face. He wanted to ask Thomas if he was okay, but he couldn’t seem to form the words, so he let his eyes slip closed and drifted off.

* * *

Magnum watched his sleeping friend worriedly. Rick had taken a pretty mean beating at the hands of those drunks. He wasn’t exactly sure how the fight had started, but it had ended in a big mess that led to them being dragged over to the police station and stuck in a tiny holding cell. 

His friend was already sick, as much as he’d denied it earlier. The beating he’d taken definitely hadn’t helped.

Magnum sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. Maybe his best bet was to get some sleep, but he wasn’t tired. Just annoyed.

Rick shifted suddenly and cried out in his sleep.

Magnum nudged him gently. “Hey, it’s all right, man.” 

The other man’s eyes blinked open slowly, and a bad feeling settled itself in the pit of Magnum’s stomach. “Rick?”

Rick’s fingers traced over the bars of the cell. “No…” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. 

Magnum tried again. “Hey, man—”

“No!” Rick scrambled up from the bench, practically tumbling off the thing onto the floor. He threw his hands up defensively. His chest heaved.

_ Crap. _“Rick, it’s me. It’s Thomas. We’re okay.”

The injured man gazed warily at him with fever-bright eyes. His brow furrowed in confusion. “Tommy…?”

“Yeah, man.” Magnum nodded, slightly relieved. “It’s okay.” He took a careful step forward.

“How’d you get in here?” Panic laced Rick’s voice. “You...you can’t be here, T.M. They’re gonna hurt you if they find you in here.” His eyes darted back and forth, searching for an unseen enemy.

Any ounce of hope that Thomas had knocked his friend from his memories faded as Rick grew more agitated.

“I’ll be fine!” Rick promised, voice cracking as his arms wound protectively around his middle. “Just go.”

Magnum hesitated, trying to decide the best course of action. Rick was clearly delirious, trapped in a nightmare of the past. Normally it didn’t take this long to pull him from a flashback, but the fact that they were currently trapped in a holding cell created a realistic illusion of being back at the camp. Although, this cell was much more spacious and clean than the ones back in Afghanistan. 

It made no difference to Rick, who had retreated to the back of the cell, far away from Thomas.

“Rick, listen.” Magnum kept his voice quiet and soothing. “We’re safe, okay?”

Rick shook his head vehemently. “Thomas, no…”

Magnum growled under his breath. His buddy clearly wasn’t processing the words. He took a few steps forward, trying to ignore the way Rick cowered at his approach. “Hey, just calm down,” he said softly, crouching in front of the delirious man. 

Rick wasn’t listening. His gaze went past Magnum, toward the door. “No, no, no,” he muttered, head shaking from side to side. “They’re coming back. Magnum, you need to go _ now. _” His brow furrowed in pain as he shifted.

“_R__ick _.” Magnum hated to raise his voice, but his other approach wasn’t working. He’d considered calling for the officer but quickly decided that the appearance of a stranger would not be the best thing for Rick at the moment. He gripped the man’s shoulders and shook him. “Look at me.”

The demanding voice did its job of catching Rick’s attention. Magnum hated the raw fear he could see in his best friend’s wide eyes as they landed on him. He knew what his friend was feeling all too well.

“Rick.” Magnum squeezed his shoulders gently. “Hey. Do you trust me?”

Rick nodded slowly; his breathing was still somewhat erratic but he seemed to be gaining a little control.

“Okay. Then I need you to listen to me. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but we’re safe. They’re not coming in here.” He knew trying to explain where they actually were was going to be too confusing for Rick’s already-muddled brain, so he kept it simple.

Rick nodded again, relief beginning to creep over his features. “You—you’re sure?”

“Promise.” Thomas moved one hand from Rick’s shoulder to the side of his face, nearly startling at the heat radiating off the man. “Breathe with me.” He coached his friend through it, finally getting him to slow his breaths to a semi-normal rate.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Magnum hoping that calming Rick down would clear his mind enough to bring him around to the present. While the injured man was not nearly as wound up as he had been, his eyes still darted worriedly around the cell, as if he expected the guards to come bursting in at any second.

Thomas felt his back began to cramp from the way he’d been crouching. He moved to stand up, glancing at the bench that was probably at least a little more comfortable than the floor. “Hey, man, why don’t we get you back over to—”

“No!” Rick caught Thomas by the arm, eyes widening. “Just...just stay here,” he mumbled, leaning back against the wall. 

“All right, all right,” Magnum said, settling down next to his buddy. “I’m not going anywhere.” Not like he could leave even if he wanted to. 

“We’re gonna be okay, Tommy,” Rick told him, his eyes beginning to droop. “We’re gonna get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Magnum agreed quietly, watching as his friend drifted off. 

* * *

The next morning when Rick woke up with no recollection of the previous night, Thomas wouldn’t tell him what happened beyond the bar fight. When they stopped at a medical clinic to get him checked out and pick up meds for his now low-grade fever and headache, Rick didn’t complain. He could see the look in his friend’s eye and knew whatever had gone on last night had thrown him into serious mother-hen mode. Rick was familiar enough with it to know that it was best to just let T.M. fuss, though he did wonder how bad things had gotten for Magnum not to be making some stupid joke about how he’d gotten thrown around by the guys at the bar. 

Part of him wanted to ask, to push for more than the vague answers he’d been given, but he trusted Thomas and decided maybe he was better off not knowing.

However, Rick also decided that he was not going hang out at a small town bar with Thomas ever again.


End file.
